Within the heart of every stray lies the singular desire to be loved! (love a stray today :) ) Welcome to the trappings of a curious and sometimes demented mind!

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

men are funny creatures

i wonder why it is that men get so intense when doing things! today was the last day for putting together *stuff* for the baby's room... altho this was the car seat we were experimenting w/ while making sure it fit properly into the car, was buckled down properly and such, so it wasn't like all the rest of the times where we (ok, most of the time - HIM) were actually reading directions while putting together something.

putting together things has tested my resolve in more ways than one. i'm either not any good at it or get sorta manic crazy at making sure that every piece is precise, so, needless to say, i've been in a state for the last couple of weeks while all things baby related were being put together, getting sorted and such, and i've been driving hashim crazy. i think he's probably on cloud 9 over the fact that everything is finished and he doesn't have to put anything else together. well... at least until about 4 mths. then he'll be tested again when it comes time to put together the highchair! ;) and it looks complicated....

the first time my mania started was when he was putting together the crib. i actually found myself wondering "can he do this" and then i did the dreaded and said it, which isn't a good thing to do... take it from me, girls! needless to say, i was told to go to the bedroom and leave him be while he put it together... so... i went to the bedroom, reluctantly, and eventually fell asleep. i remember waking up several times over the next several hours and upon hearing the noise coming from the baby's room, figured that he was making progress or finished and had started on the other items.

well, i guess after about 5 hrs or so, i decided to sneak back in there and see where things stood. and... what did i see? the crib was still on the floor in pieces but at least the sides were up. he was mumbling to himself and had gotten help from the guy who works for us. holding each side while trying to fit bars in between to hold it together is something that's difficult for one person to do, i found out rather quickly because what did i do upon seeing the mess on the floor?? me.... well, i started making one comment after another - asking all the worst questions like "are you going to get it together", "do you know what you're doing", and the worst... "boy, it sure has taken a long time and it still isn't together". this is the one that got me the death look and the one that shut me up fast... again, i was told to go to the bedroom and to leave him alone. i argued a little and stated my reasons for wanting to stay, but if i wanted the crib to be put together, and you know i did, i knew i had no choice but to leave. so, even though it killed me, i left.

off i went and pouted for a while in the bedroom... all the while wondering if it would be put together today or was there something wrong w/ it. the guy at the store said it was rather simple, but it didn't look simple to me and it sure was taking a helluva long time! i'm a hard sale on these things, especially when they look really difficult and probably because i'd never be able to do it myself, BUT... believe it or not, i think it wasn't but 30 mins to an hour after that and the crib was together. he showed me, now didn't he!

i'll have to admit, if it was up to me, i would have never been able to do it. i get stuck w/ the slightest of things - when trying to read directions - so i'm happy that he's become so handy in this way. :) (i now even have a "honey do" clip on the fridge for those days when i'll need something done... i wonder if he'll ignore it! ;) ) and sometimes when i'm not all manic, we actually work pretty good as a team and i'm highly complimentary... it's just hard, in the state that i'm in, to remind him of these little juicy morsels. he still reminds me of how hard i was on him that day ;) but you know, the way i look at it, isn't it better to be a perfectionist to make sure it's done properly than to be like "well, it looks good, so what if it sways here and there and looks like it's about to fall apart".... ;)

this crib was the toughest, i think, of all of the things or maybe once you become a master of these sorts of things, it all goes rather fast. i'm not sure, since the only thing i put together was the mobile for the crib, and you wouldn't believe how long that took me and he never said a word! he's now put together the crib, stroller, bouncer, changing table, swing and has put up shelves. he put together the swing a few days ago and i think it took him all of 20 mins.

what is that old saying, "don't bite the hand that feeds you".... coz if you do, then things don't go as smoothly as one would like.

i'mtellin' ya, he's quite the expert now... but you know, i don't know why i ever doubted it. he's put together major equipment in his studio more than 5 times and i'd NEVER be able to do that... all those wires, tables and such. phew, wears me out just to think about it. so, why did i ever doubt him?

well, i've learned my lesson. but i still don't understand why guys get so dang intense.... so what if they're getting questions and advice from a woman who knows nothing about putting things together! ;)

16 comments:

Cos they go: I am man. I can do this on my own, no help, no woman. Me strong!

haha!

I'm the techie and the troubleshooter in our house, so whenever anything needs doing be it technical or practical, they knock on my door. However, when I was in Canada with my aunt, my cousin who is a guy was trying to attach a DVD player to his mother's TV. He tried for 2 days. He has NO head for things remotely technical, but I've set up loads of electronics systems over the years at home, and I've even assembled furniture and BBQs.

But there were complicated reasons why I wouldn't dare offer to help him...

i'm totally impressed that you are able to do these things. i don't think i've come across many women who can and i'm terribly jealous. i can't do these things ... have tried, but just can't manage.

again, i'm totally impressed that you can put together furniture... and BBQs! those are some complicated little puppies! and electronics... i can't manage these to save my life. i'd be like your cousin and pack it up and take it back!!

I wish men were as intense when trying to plan good surprises for us :)

My husband is the same way. One day when he had to put a few pieces of furniture together, he wouldn't joke or talk to me. He had a mission and couldn't be distracted. My friend and I left him alone and had a glass of wine in the other room. Once he was done, he started telling me how hard it was and how quick he finished it compared to other men :)

Tooners, you'll find that anything 'baby' related isn't always so simple as the instructions make them out to be. Check out epinions.com where you can do price and product comparison so that, before you buy that bjorn baby sling thing, you know which brand is easie-r/st, or the most user unfriendly! And then, just wait, you'll become (yes, YOU) quite the expert putting toys together ("assembly and battery required").. it took me 50 minutes one time to put a hot wheels thingmajig together.. but together I put it! ha! ah, I'm going down memory lane..hope all is well with you other than being an exacting task mistress! lolIngrid

I am in charge of all technique at home. i am responsible for electronic equipment, cables. Once i managed to connect computer to TV, to CD player and to mic, and we sang karaoke. Ppl were impressed, but its a matter of having right cables and know what to connect where :)The other day i was fixing the lamp and my mom was talking and asking if its done or not, why it takes so much time. She had that "look" from me and everything was solved.

Once our washing machine was about to broke and my mom said "Puppy, come and see what is wrong" that is where i told her "you must be kidding" :) and we called for repairman, somthing was wrong with pump.I like fixing, connecting things, it so interesting to me, from childhood i used to deattach everything to see how it all works.

Good for you that you have Hashim. Be easy on him and dont bite the hand....:)

Calm down Tooners. Let him have a go, muck it up, just go and read some nice poetry. Sing to your baby. He or she will hear.W.PS Does anyone know what to do when the TV (and DVD - which is new) is black and white for one TV station and for the DVD? My man presses every button in sight until something happens, well, it didn't this time.

Tooners, it's a simple matter of male pride. There is an unwritten rule that any male worth his Y-chromosomes is born knowing: if we can't do something on our own, with our own two hands, than we flunk the test of true manhood and wind up bearing the label of "really sucks".

That's also why real men don't ask for directions or read user's manuals.

Tooners - hehe, thanks! It's probably because as an only child I spent as much time in the garage with Dad as I did in the kitchen with Mum!

***

You know, after reading Gazza and Leila's comments, I just realised why when I was crying in the parking lot at IKEA because none of the buses went the right way, my old friend A would not come and pick me up when I called - because he was assembling furniture.

***

Hey Minstrel - you know my cousin who couldn't connect the DVD to the TV? Well, he spends days reading manuals. His Mom got the Motorola Razr phone - his mom! - and HE took it and the manual away to study.

Also, after he saw my camera, he finally got his out of the box and spent a few more days reading the manual. Bloddy heck, man, just turn it on and explore!

Hey Tooners,I'm sorry I've been M.I.A.ing for so long. I thought you may have noticed I've gone off on our neighbors several times since Saba has chosen to ignore me and maybe that's just my reaction to that but I just wanted to make several things clear:

1. I'm NOT in favor of transfer(forcibly relocating the Palestinians).

2. I have Muslim friends in who live in Israel and whom I consider loyal citizens.

3. I have no problem with Islam, as long as it's not radical Islam. To be sure I know very, very little about Islam and am looking for some way of finding out.

Moody: I've been good(thank G-d). It's been tough with two jobs(I've taken up a job as security guard in a high-tech firm cuaze the teaching job wasn't paying enough. I hope to be in touch with both you and Tooners via email in the near future. Take care, buddy!

The Followers

Who am I?

I'm a girl living in Bahrain, under the all too watchful eyes of her in-laws, begging for a breath to speak/write it all down.... and I have a beautiful boy that will soon be 3... he's the only thing that keeps me 'almost' sane..... that and happiness that flutters like a butterfly... a beautiful red, black and gold one.... too quick to catch.